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TOP FIVE FOR ELLISON AT MALLORY

Author: Cartersport
Posted on: Sunday, Jun 29 2008



After developing the brand new traction control system on his Honda CBR1000 Fireblade, Ellison resorted to his original machine prior to the first 30-lap race where steady progress through the field saw him catch up with the leading bunch but he couldn't quite close in and had to settle for fifth position at the flag.

Race two proved a nightmare for all of the teams with a sudden rain shower before the start making tyre choice a lottery and Ellison chose an intermediate front and a slick rear on the drying track. After taking it steady in the opening laps Ellison improved to 11th place at the chequered flag and was just pleased to bring the machine home to add to his points tally.

For team mate Guy Martin it proved to be another character building weekend, after only being able to manage 26th fastest in qualifying, meaning a sixth row start. However Shaun Muir's team made some radical changes to the machine prior to today's two races and Martin ended up with a pair of reasonable finishes in 16th and 17th.

However, consolation came the way for Martin when his efforts were acknowledged with him being the best improver on the day meaning he won the Airwaves Kick Up A Gear award. In addition, Ellison now leads this award following on today's results.

Both riders now look forward to the next round of the championship in three weeks time at Oulton Park where last time Ellison scored a podium finish for the team.

James Ellison: "The first race was really good but I would have rather had a good race two. In the second race I should have been higher up as I made the right decision on the tyres but I was too far down the grid so I'm just really frustrated. It took me a while to get some heat into the tyre and then I kept coming up behind other riders and kept getting held up. I think testing the traction control put us in a bad position but it was my decision, so it's my fault. I'm disappointed for the guys in the team as well, but I'm hoping to go well at Oulton Park and hopefully go one better and get a win."

Guy Martin: "The second race was just a wobble round for everyone and I made the best of a bad job and got the Airwaves Kick Up A Gear award. But at least I got two finishes and no breakdowns this weekend so it puts us in good stead for the Southern 100 race next week."

Shaun Muir (Team Owner): "I was absolutely delighted with race one, James rode really hard from that grid position and he proved that with a bit more testing he could be up there. I was disappointed with race two as I felt that James didn't get up to pace quickly enough as it took him half race distance to get into his stride."

Superbike Race One Result
1, Shane Byrne (Ducati) 28m33.049s, 2, Leon Haslam (Honda) +1.024s, 3, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +1.147s, 4, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) +1.355s, 5, James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +11.302s, 6, Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +17.149s, 7, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +18.252s, 8, Tristan Palmer (Honda) +19.761s, 9, Atsushi Watanabe (Suzuki) +26.422s, 10, John Laverty (Ducati) +27.593s.16, Guy Martin (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +1 lap.

Superbike Race Two Result
1, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 30m10.219s, 2, Shane Byrne (Ducati) +4.405s, 3, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +4.586s, 4, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) +13.383s, 5, Karl Harris (Yamaha) +13.589s, 6, Leon Haslam (Honda) +19.517s, 7, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +25.928s, 8, Leon Camier (Ducati) +35.007s, 9, Tristan Palmer (Honda) +44.194s, 10, Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 56.422s, 11, James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +56.712s. 17, Guy Martin (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +1 lap.

2008 Bennetts British Superbike Championship Standings after Round 6
1, Shane Byrne (Ducati) 280pts
2, Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 183pts
3, Leon Camier (Ducati) 160pts
4, Leon Haslam (Honda) 148pts
5, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 127pts
6, Tom Sykes (Suzuki) 126pts
7, James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 119pts
8, Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 84pts
9, Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 69pts
10, Stuart Easton (Kawasaki) 62pts
17, Guy Martin (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) 19pts


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